Thursday of the Octave of Easter

            St. Peter’s declaration is a good humility check for me as a priest.  After the crippled man was healed he said, “You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this, and why do you look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety?  The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus…And by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong…”  We priests see God’s powerful work on a daily basis.  I must always remember this is God’s work, not mine.

            This fact, that God is at work in our Church, reminds us that we can trust her.  For example, many question the Church’s teaching about the priesthood—that priests can’t marry and that women can’t be priests.  We can trust God is still at work and has chosen the priests He has called.

            The same Jesus who rose from the dead, ate with his disciples and was present with them after his resurrection, is still working today.  For this reason alone we can have great faith in the Church he established.